Deborah Kay Shepperd, 59, of Waco, passed away Tuesday, July 24, 2013. A memorial service will be held at 3pm, Tuesday, July 30 at Lake Shore Funeral Home Chapel, 5201 Steinbeck Bend in Waco. Thoughts and memories may be shared in the online Guest Book at www.LakeShoreFuneralHome.com.
Deborah was born April 22, 1954 to Charles and Betty (Houck) Hughes in Waco; the eldest of three children. She graduated from Richfield High School, and later, on March 24th, 1972, she married the love of her life, Michael Steve Shepperd. Together, they shared 41 years. Debbie became a licensed cosmetologist and began a career as a stylist before transforming into a full-time mother of three sons. Debbie loved life! She lived for spending time with her precious sons, her family, and numerous friends and customers she made over the years. She loved traveling to the beach and never met a stranger; She enjoyed cooking and quilting; was an avid reader and loved going to the movies. She also adored spending time outdoors and had a natural talent for growing beautiful plants. Debbie and her husband, Mike, enjoyed traveling together. Together, they went on cruises to the Caribbean and loved vacationing at Port Aransas. She was an incredible mother and dedicated wife. She spent the last six years of her life caring for her husband who was disabled from a series of strokes. She worked multiple jobs to make ends meet and still made every effort to attend events and celebrations with her three children. She loved to help people, especially her three sons. Deborah touched the lives of everyone she met. She was outgoing, and truly lived, in every sense of the word. In the last decade she became a fitness fanatic. She attended WRS fitness club religiously and loved talking about her workouts. She will be dearly missed by all the lives she touched. There was great celebration in Heaven from angels awaiting her arrival. Debbie had a deep faith in God and loved the Lord with all of her heart. She had a heart for helping others that came from her faith in God.
She was preceded in death by her grandparents, E.C. and Marie Houck of Waco.
She is survived by three sons, Shelton Shepperd and wife April of Austin, Sterling Shepperd and wife Ashley of Waco, and Skyler Shepperd of Waco; a beautiful granddaughter, Piper Jane; a much anticipated grandson, Shooter Michael, due in August; her mother and father, Betty and Charles Hughes; a brother, Mike Hughes of Waco; a sister, Nina Musil and husband J.W. of Waco; niece Este Musil; and many other relatives and dear friends.
In lieu of flowers, the family invites you to send contributions to the American Stroke Association, www.strokeassociation.org.
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Michael Steve Shepperd, 60, of Waco, passed away Tuesday, July 24, 2013. A memorial service will be held at 3pm, Tuesday, July 30 at Lake Shore Funeral Home Chapel, 5201 Steinbeck Bend in Waco. Thoughts and memories may be shared in the online Guest Book at www.LakeShoreFuneralHome.com.
Michael was born July 16, 1953 to James and Lynette (Russell) Shepperd in Waco, the oldest of three children. He graduated from Conelly High School in 1971. On March 24th, 1972 he married the love of his life, Deborah Kay Hughes. Together, they shared 41 years and raised three dear sons. Michael was a successful homebuilder in the Waco area for over 30 years, and also helped form a commercial contracting company based out of Houston. Michael was an avid outdoorsman and a very serious bow hunter. He frequented the Rocky Mountains of New Mexico and Colorado and Bridger Teton
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<3 Mike you are loved and dearly missed.
We were very sorry to hear of your great loss. Please accept our deepest,heartfelt sympathy.
Such dear memories of two great friends. My deepest sympathy to all of the family. God bless you. Bruce Carter
Hold on to the good memories. Your parents loved you very much. I only knew them the last 3 years, they will be missed. Take care of the little dog.
Claudia, The Letter Carrier.
Nina and family,
We are very sorry for your loss.
…sending love and prayers…
This one of those times that our grief is overpowering.But I am so glad these two were part of my life. We met in the late 70’s and have so many memories with them and Sis in law Tina. Oh the stories! Each time I ran into her, she would remind me of,"Remember when we all did…"I only wish we had stayed in touch more in recent years. I will miss them both. Sterling and my son Sandon shared Trinity Lutheran school together. Debbie and Michael gave me a beautiful painting she had done that I always admired and it is so precious to me now. Boys and family, my church and FB friends are all holding you up in prayer and will continue to do so. Your mom and dad loved you so, hold on to that.
My heart goes out to the family of Debbie & Mike. When I last saw Debbie, she proudly showed me the quilt she was working on for the new grandson! She was so proud of her sons, and talked of them often. She also spoke of her deep faith in God. I pray you three boys will think on the happier days and loving memories, and remember you are very loved. They are very proud of you!
They were both such wonderful people. I loved knowing that Debbie was there whenever I needed her and always looked forward to seeing her. She struggled the last 4 yrs or so to maintain a stable life. I will truly miss her!!
What a tragic loss for the family. I am praying for you all.
I am so sorry to hear about this sad loss of two wonderful people. My thoughts and prayers are with all of the family during this time as well as in the future. Mike and Debbie were always so sweet and generous to me and I will always remember those happy times with their family.
Mikes dad, James, built my parents first home in Northcrest and we lived next door to the Shepperds for several years. My mother, Olanda, and Mike’s mother, Lynette, became great friends over the years.
God Bless the family.
I am so sorry for the loss of Debbie and Mike. May God bless all of the family and friends affected by their absence.
To the family, we are so overwhelmed with sorrow, but feel they were such a strong couple. Our love to their son’s that they loved so very much. Debbie was a huge part of my life for 15 yrs. and we had many good laughs! May they ‘Rest In Peace’ we will miss them both.
15 years of friendship..I’m truly going to miss Debbie and her witty blonde moments..us sitting on my patio and venting to each other. I know all the responsibilities Debbie had taken on after Mike’s health declined, I will miss our long talks and her crazy stories. We always tried to decide who’s life was more nutty- mine or her’s!!!!..I tried to be there as much as I could to lend an ear…never in all my hours of listening to her did I hear or see myself losing a beautiful person and friend at this time….I love you and miss you…I’m so sorry…save me a glass of wine we will see each other again!!!!!!!!!!
Debbie was a great friend to many! She was always glowing when I saw her at HEB! I loved being able to talk to her so often and hate I missed the entire summer to see her! She always made me smile no matter what was going on!
Mike was awesome! He would always come over and just tell me about his life. I enjoyed getting to know him!
Our thoughts and prayers are with you! God bless you and hold you close.
Nina and family,
We are saddened by your loss and will continue to pray for you in the days to come. What blessings they were to so many people.
Debbie was a great friend with whom I worked out at WRS. She would seldom miss the noon class, and I always looked forward to her smile and enthusiasm. During the last week I saw her, she showed me the quilt she was making for her anticipated grandchild and spoke of the good times she had spent traveling with her husband. I will deeply miss her.
Shelton, Sterling and Skylar My heart just aches for you three boys. My love and prayers are with you. Regina Phythian
Our prayers go out to the family of Mike and Deborah, I first met Mike when I contracted him to build our new home on Shilling Drive back in 1983, he was a genuine friend, please remember him as we will always, he was Mike……
Love you Sterling and Ashley. God is with you. I love you both…and you have the love of family surrounding you.
To Shelton, Sterling, and Skylar,
We’re so very sorry for your loss. May you find comfort in knowing that you were loved by two very special people and they were loved by many.
Sonny and Jeanene (Hankins) Morton
Debbie had a smile that was contagious, a heart of gold, and love to give to anyone that came into her life. She loved her 3 boys dearly and was soo proud of you 3!! Her devotion to Mr. Shepperd was impecable and she always made sure he had what he needed. Debbie worked very hard to make ends meet and was such an amazing woman!!! I have so many memories to keep for a life time and cherish our friendship I had with her. I loved going over to their home and visiting them both, they would show me pictures of their past and talk for hours about how they met:) Their love was precious and beautiful. I am sad about the loss of both of them and will miss them dearly. I ask that God stand by your sides in a troubled moment like this and give you patience, understanding, and love. My thoughts and prayers are with you all, God Bless.
We are so sorry for you loss. We came to know Mike when he agreed to build our outdoor kitchen. We appreciated the hard work and dedication he and the boys gave to our project. It was so nice to see a family that worked well together. His carpenter skills were spot on and the finished product was outstanding. I know he has passed on many great qualities to his sons. Care and concern filled the room when we visited Mike after his stroke. Unfortunately, life carries us down difficult roads we are forced to face. Just remember you are not alone. We hold you in our hearts, thoughts and prayers.
Forever in my heart , past, present and future. I love you all